Welcome to GISH PICKS: CURATED CULTURE FOR KIDS AND ADULTS! I’m Sarah Gish, an info-preneur and culture sleuth who finds the unusual and cool in Houston each and every week. Join me as I shine a light on Houston gems and unique Houston fun. I love Houston and want to show you the people and the places and the events that make it great (see more about my wishes for that here). And I want to make it easy for you so I sort through the cornucopia of events offered in our wonderful city each weekend and I PICK only three each for families and adults to recommend to you. That way you’ll be all set when Friday hits!

Speaking of Friday, please join me for my weekly PICKS-ON-WHEELS in my Phoenix Rising Art Car. Each Friday at noon, I’ll be at a different cool place – meeting people, introducing what they do and their mission, and wandering around. It’s my way of bringing GISH PICKS to life! Tune in on Fridays here. It is TOTALLY fun and I’d love for you to see them and join in by liking and commenting! AND – lucky you, I’ll be posting them here as my weekly VIDEO PICK when I can.

We are the most diverse city in the country, not only because of the over 100 languages spoken here every day, but also because of the diversity of events offered and places to hang our (cowboy) hats. Please be sure to tell your friends about GISH PICKS – the more people who know about these unique cultural events, the more unique cultural events the organizations will offer us. Please also tell the orgs that I sent you. My business grows by word of mouth so I thank you for your continued support. Here’s to many more years of GISH PICKS!

A note about the social media for GISH PICKS: please LIKE our Facebook page for family PICKSand our Facebook page for adult PICKS. Be sure to click “See first” in the dropdown menu on the LIKE button so you won’t miss a post! And please follow me on Instagram and Twitter. You’ll get all my CULTURE PICKS and more that way. And there’s one last way to stay in touch with me! I organize many events, such as labyrinth walks and workshops, so if you’d like to be informed of those before everyone else, please subscribe to my Gish Creative list here.

THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEK

Spring has sprung and spring break for Houston kiddos is next week (March 12-16) so if you’re needing help with finding camps or activities next week, click here for my round-up of ideas just for YOU. It’s “International Women’s Day” this Thursday, March 8. The Rothko Chapel is commemorating the day with a display of The Monument Quilt, which is a quilted collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse (see more about that here.) And the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest is hosting an “International Women's Day 2018 Conference,” which will include welcome remarks from Consul General of Israel to the Southwest, Gilad Katz, and as well as presentations by four influential women from Houston who represent the fields of public service, community advocacy, public sector, and arts & culture. The much-awaited film by women about women – “A Wrinkle in Time” – opens this Friday! And if you’d like to meet me in person, join me this Saturday, March 10 for my “Second Saturday Labyrinth Walk” at the beautiful Hines Center for Spirituality and Prayer. I’d love to find personal peace with you!

Have a great weekend and please love one another, please share this, and please – go IGNITE YOUR LIFE!

It’s always fun to celebrate the artistry of kids – and the Aurora Picture Show loves to do that. This Saturday, March 10 at 10am, enjoy a free screening of “Aurora Education Highlights,” a showcase of imaginative short films created by kids over the past year through Aurora’s media arts education at Houston-area schools, hospitals, and community centers.

Hope Stone celebrates its 20th anniversary this Friday, March 9 at 7:30pm by presenting “Collective+Hope,” an evening that embodies its vision – Art for All. Hope Stone Dance shares the stage with four community partners from Hope Stone’s arts education program, The Hope Project. Students and senior citizens will perform and there will be treats like their joyful “squared dancer”, a good ol’ hoedown, and “steak tartare,” a cooking-dancing romp which brings founder/director Jane Weiner back to the stage with former company members Susan Blair and Penny Tschirhart.

The Houston Fire Museum hosts a “Free Play Day” on the second Saturday of each month – this month’s is this Saturday, March 10. On these days, the Children’s Interactive Play Area is open to the public from noon-4pm and admission for kids is free. Their regular hours are Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10am-4pm but the museum is often closed for birthday parties on Saturdays.

This Friday, March 9 from 8-11pm the “FotoFest 2018 Biennial: INDIA” opens with a fun, free, public party at their headquarters. FotoFest’s INDIA exhibitions are on view all over Houston and are accompanied by six weeks of associated programming, including forums and dialogues on India and its changing role in the world. Click here to see all.

DISNEY FILMS

“A Wrinkle in Time” opens this Friday, March 9 and I normally wouldn’t make a big blockbuster type film a PICK but I want this film to do well because it’s historic! Director Ava DuVernay is the first African American woman to solo-direct a movie with a budget over $100 million, Disney producer Catherine Hand has wanted the book to be a movie for 6 decades (since she was 10 years old!), and it's based on a wonderful book about being a light in dark times written by a woman – Madeleine L'Engle.

The run of “Men on Boats” ends this Sunday, March 11 at Main Street Theater so see it soon! From the website: “Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. “Men on Boats” is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of loyal but zealous volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River. Oh, and all the explorers are played by women.” Fun!

GUIDANCE SESSIONS (Mondays) and LABYRINTH WALKS (Second Saturdays)

I offer intuitive guidance sessions every Monday at Body Mind & Soul ‪from 10am-5:30pm and I would love to help Y-O-U. Let’s connect if you are wondering what to do with your life, whether it’s in the personal realm or the professional arena (or both). I use my intuitive skills and my many years of studying people to help you FOCUS – on you, your dreams and desires, and how to manifest them. And if you don’t know what your passions are, I will guide you in discovering them. Finding your personal mission will exponentially increase your ability to succeed in life while also attracting an abundance of joy. Sessions are $100/hour and $50/thirty minutes and take place at the store – 7951 Katy Freeway. Call them at ‪713.993.0550 to book an appointment.

And if you’re looking for a way to increase the peace in your life, please join me for our “Second Saturday Labyrinth Walks” at the beautiful Hines Center for Spirituality and Prayer in downtown Houston at 500 Prairie Street. My next walk will be Saturday, March 10, 9am-11am. Free parking is available in the Christ Church Cathedral garage at 559 San Jacinto Street; bring your ticket in to get it validated. We are creating quite a community with these monthly walks – join us! New people will tour the center and we’ll all walk the labyrinth and make art. I am a trained labyrinth facilitator and love sharing what I know with others. Register for the walk here or at the door. You’ll leave with something you’ve made, a list of Houston area labyrinths, and a handout on the art of walking labyrinths.

GISH PICKS: CURATED CULTURE FOR KIDS AND ADULTS is a free weekly email in which I cull through the HUNDREDS of events offered in our city each week and PICK just three for adults and three for kids to recommend. It’s #GishPicks #CuratedCulture to help you plan your weekend! I know many of you go to events based on GISH PICKS recommendations; PLEASE remember to tell the organization that you are there because of us. Word-of-mouth like yours helps our business to grow. In the same spirit, please also feel free to share GISH PICKS with friends and families.

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The purpose of GISH PICKS is to help Houstonians become aware of all the interesting and unique things they can do in Houston and the surrounding area. Exploring your city is a great way to #IgniteYourOwnLife and we are so happy to help you do that. Please do give me feedback and ideas, as you are out there in the trenches also looking for interesting things and I want to hear what you find.

If you are having trouble getting to a website listed here, try hitting the "Ctrl" button and left-clicking on the web address, which should make it "live".

For more about my personal, family, and business enrichment company, Gish Creative, and the services we offer, please click here. You are on this list because I thought this e-newsletter would be helpful to you or because you signed up for it. Please feel free to tell your friends to subscribe by clicking here. My goal is to serve as an information resource for Houston kids and adults through my various endeavors, including: